xxxHOLiC·Heikou
by Chilipop
Summary: When Watanuki chose to stay in the shop, he gave up his existence on this current dimension. However, someone unknown replaced him. Doumeki is troubled by the current situation and must make a choice. Cp204 spoilers.
1. Substitute

_Lately, I haven't seen many xxxHolic fics so I decided to write one. I hope you like it~_

_A couple of reviews would be nice :3 Flames will be used to light Watanuki's incense sticks and add more pretty smoke.  
_

_Let's keep the xxxHOLiC community alive until June!_

_l  
_

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would publish it every week with no breaks at all.

Rating: Unknown, but T for safety.

Pairing: Doumeki x Watanuki (main), Yuuko x Watanuki, Himawari x Watanuki

Warning: Spoilers: Takes place from chapter 204, onwards.

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**I. Substitute**

**

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**

"What's up with that weird ring you're wearing?"

"Engaged."

"Don't joke around! Like if anyone wanted to be engaged to you!"

"Does it bother you?"

"No, it doesn't!"

He humphed and grabbed his university bag.

"I'm going ahead."

I knew he wouldn't do so. It would only be a matter of seconds until he encountered another spirit.

"Uh…" He sweat-dropped. I didn't move from my original position. "…Eh…" He hesitated a bit. If he wanted me to protect him, he would have to say it.

"Doumeki…" an angry vein popped in his forehead.

"Weren't you going ahead?"

"Well… are any spirits _ahead_?" In front of him wandered a bunch of evil spirits which wanted to get him. He couldn't see them, nor sense them from a distance. However, he knew that as soon as he got close to them, he would start feeling a chill down his spine and his body started acting weird. Being as stubborn as he was, it had taken me a whole week to convince him that those headaches and sensations he had were related to spirits. I'm still not sure if he really believes me. He just wants to avoid having those weird sensations and my presence makes him feel at ease.

"Maybe."

"… Argh! You're annoying!" He gave up. "You should better come with me!"

Nice try, Watanuki. But still, not enough.

"My workplace isn't that way."

"Just… shut up and walk me home!"

"Please." I teased him.

"I'm not… Ugh, forget it! I'll go alone."

When he was near the entrance, I poked on his shoulder.

"Yes." I said.

"Yes, what?"

"There are many spirits ahead."

I know I was torturing him. I missed his reactions. 'Tsundere' reactions.

"Please… Walk me home." His tone displayed anger, yet his cheeks turned slightly pink. "What? S-stop staring!"

Even though both of us were university students, it still felt like if I was walking him home from school. Maybe it was the sunset's fault. Or the slow, tender afternoon breeze and the barking of that black dog Watanuki hated so much.

"Stupid dog..." He muttered. "So, how's Mr. Li?"

I still can't get used to calling Watanuki Mr. Li. Even less, to use the 'Mr.' honorific. Mr. Li was the surname I came up with when he asked me about the store owner's name. I couldn't tell him it was 'Watanuki', like his.

"He's fine." I answered him.

Kimihiro Watanuki. He was the replacement of the son of Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto. That's what Watanuki said when he explained to me his existence after Yuuko's death. When I told him he should be Li instead of Watanuki, he nodded in agreement. However, he hated being called 'Li' by me and that I should keep calling him 'Watanuki' or else he would make me starve.

The problem is another Watanuki appeared one day when I was shopping for Watanuki. I still don't know how to refer to this Watanuki. My logic tells me it should be 'Kimihiro Watanuki' because he is the replacement of the original Kimihiro Li. 'Watanuki' means 'decoy' so I thought it suited the new replacement. Still, he is the replacement of a replacement, the decoy of a previous decoy. Whenever I thought about that, my head hurt.

It's confusing to call both Watanuki the same way. No matter how I hard I try, I can't get the newer Watanuki to let me call him something else that wasn't Watanuki. And asking this to the previous Watanuki was out of the question. So I figured out I should call the new Watanuki 'oi', whether he liked it or not.

"It's sad to have a condition that makes you unable to leave a place. He must feel lonely."

He is. He's enclosed himself in the shop. I should spend more time with him. But I can't leave this new Watanuki alone. His sudden appearance is a mystery.

"He's very bitchy, isn't he? Telling you do lots of things and not thanking you properly."

"You're the one to talk."

He opened and closed his mouth like a fish forcefully taken out of water. Then, he crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm different!"

I wonder.

"Ah! Here's my apartment."

I stood there, immobile. He made various 'shoo' hand gestures.

"What? Go!"

"Someone over there is telling me to do lots of things and not thanking me properly."

I can't avoid it. I know I shouldn't push him and tease him so much. I just missed this so badly. I starved from this during those long 4 years...

"Thnksfrwlkingmetomapprt."

I placed my hand behind my ear, indicating that I didn't hear anything. Of course, I heard.

"THANKS FOR WALKING ME HERE, YOU IDIOT DOUMEKI! HAPPY?! NOW, GO BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE!"

He shut the door as hard as he could. I smiled at the sky.

I took a look at my wristwatch. I should have been at the shop half an hour ago. Now, Watanuki will give me less sake. Damn.

I walked and walked while my mind tried to find an explanation for this strange phenomenon. I have many theories, but this is the one that seems the most convincing: When Watanuki chose to stay at the shop, his existence was erased from this current dimension and his own self became omnipresent in all dimensions as Yuuko used to be. However, that kid, Syaoran Li, had a wish which involved the birth of Watanuki. And that Watanuki was supposed to take his time and live in this dimension. If Watanuki's words _'Contracts can't be changed nor wishes can't be replaced once made'_ are true, then there has to be a Syaoran substitute in this dimension. Because the original substitute left this world, another one was born to replace him. It is supposed to both replace Watanuki's unnatural disappearance in this world and become the new Syaoran substitute of his past, unchangeable, wish.

Still, why did the new Watanuki appeared after 4 years? He should have appeared as soon as Watanuki made his choice to stay in the shop. And why wasn't Watanuki aware of this fact? He is now very powerful and should have known something like this would appear. I can't prove it, but I have a hunch that Watanuki doesn't know about him. The wise action is to let him know about him. I couldn't bring myself to tell him. No matter how many times I've been with him, Watanuki is still unpredictable.

"You're late! What's up with you? University issues?"

Watanuki laid on the couch in a provocative manner. He was smoking Yuuko's red kiseru.

"Yeah." I half lied.

"There's some sake in the living room. And some left-overs. Help yourself."

"Thanks."

I knew I needed to tell him. Sooner or later.

"Watanuki."

"What?"

"What would you do if-"

"...If...?"

Would he get rid of him? Would he use him? It doesn't matter if that Watanuki is fake and just another replacement. He's still Watanuki. The clumsy, helpless Watanuki I met and swore to protect.

Sometimes I wonder... am I the one being protected?

"MOKONA WANTS TO DRINK AS WELL!"

"Mokona! Don't interrupt people when they are talking!"

"It's ok. It wasn't important."

Mokona jumped on my shoulder and gave me a welcome kiss.

"Chyuu~ Doumeki, sake, sake!"

I was about to go to the living room when I felt Watanuki's cold stare on my neck. I turned around.

"Doumeki." He exhaled. His piercing stare sent shivers down my spine. He had never looked at me this way before. "... You are hiding something."

I was speechless. No matter how hard I tried to put on a straight face, Watanuki was one of the few people who could decipher my stoic facade.

"Can you read my mind?"

"I really wish I could. Although I should be satisfied with the fact that I'm able to determine your emotions even if your facial features remain unchanged."

Watanuki stood up and approached me.

"Doumeki..." He pointed at my right eye. The one we shared. "I will confess that I tried to make use of it when I realized the fact that during this whole week you have been strangely late and wore a troubled face. However, the connection doesn't seem to work at those times, which is odd."

He recalled the newer Watanuki had sapphire eyes. Both of them were the same color, so there shouldn't be a connection between them. And it shouldn't alter his connection with the current shop owner either.

"I have no idea." It was the pure truth.

"So, what have you been up to?"

"Worried?"

He hit me with his kiseru.

"Anyways, just be careful." He exhaled. I couldn't determine if his action of hitting was Watanuki-like or Yuuko-like. If it was the latter, I prefer not to think about it.

"Sake! Sake!"

"You drunkards go there and enjoy yourselves while I take a nap."

"You drink a lot as well."

I expected a certain reaction.

"Of course, drinking is good for your mind and body."

I didn't get the reaction I expected.

I poured the sake in the glass and drank it.

"Doumeki..." Mokona pouted. "What's wrong?"

I kept on drinking and ignored him.

"You can tell me. He's asleep. Besides, when someone talks with Mokona, that person feels better."

I drank another glass.

"You know... Yuuko and I talked about Watanuki and he never heard a word of what we said. That's because what you tell Mokona, stays in Mokona. And Mokona knows when he's unable to hear what we say. That's one of Mokona's special techniques. It's called Brokona." He boasted.

"What would Watanuki do if he had a clone?"

"Huh? Clone?" Mokona tilted his head.

"Yeah." I poured sake on Mokona's cup.

"Is t-"

"Yeah." I knew what he was going to ask. "There is."

Mokona stared at the moon.

"How long have you known the clone."

"I met him a week ago."

I drank the glass in one swoop.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Ok... I tried. I hope it wasn't boring._

_Of course, this is not a real theory. It's just something that came up in my mind._

_Let me explain it using vignettes_  
_(By the way, to 'exist' is to take up time and space in the world):_

_- Watanuki was born to be Syaoran's replacement_  
_- Watanuki altered his future and decided to stay at the shop_  
_- Watanuki can't exist in Doumeki's dimension because of his choice. He is nonexistent there (no time, no space) _  
_- Contracts cannot be undone and someone must continue to replace Syaoran's time and space (i.e: existence) at the current dimension._  
_- Eventually, another replacement appears to carry on the wish. _

_However, why he appeared after 4 years and why would a second one be needed will be revealed in the next chapters ;)_

* _Tsundere: Pretends not to care but really does. In canon, Doumeki reads manga and knows some titles. Watanuki knows about Disney Movies and Star Wars. _

_* Chyuu: Kissing sound_

_* Him: According to Horitsuba, Black Mokona is a 'he'.  
_

_* Brokona: Bro Mokona.  
_


	2. Preferences

_Lately, I haven't seen many xxxHolic fics so I decided to write one. I hope you like it~_

_Thanks a lot for your reviews! I treasure everyone of them, even if they are composed of single words. I love them.  
_

_This chapter is dedicated to_ _Buzzbug82, Carnu and James Birdsong._

_So, let's survive until June!  
_

_l  
_

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would publish it every week as a **60**-paged manga.

Rating: Unknown, but T for safety.

Pairing: Doumeki x Watanuki (main), Yuuko x Watanuki, Himawari x Watanuki

Warning: Spoilers: Takes place from chapter 204, onwards. _Flashbacks are under Italics. _

Previous Chapter Summary: Doumeki encountered a person similar to Watanuki a week ago. He walked him to his apartment. Doumeki wonders about this "Watanuki"'s existence. When he entered the shop, Watanuki felt he was hiding something but decided to let it go. Doumeki tells Mokona about this "clone" and the black manjuu asks for more information about him.

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**II. Preferences**

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"I met him a week ago. When I was shopping for Watanuki."

_l_

_Watanuki complained about having stomach aches ('You and your stupid requests!'). He told me he wanted to make a salad._

_"Here's the buying list. Remember, it must be a red-tip leaf lettuce. If you bring me another one, you'll have to go and change it."_

_Here I am, standing in from of the vegetable stands and seeing wood. A few hours ago, there had been a supermarket promotion in which all vegetables cost half their prices IF you had a coupon. _

_I couldn't find that lettuce anywhere. And I couldn't trick him. He knew more about food than what I did. _

_I tried searching for that lettuce and my hatred towards salads started to grow more and more. Why couldn't we have inari-sushi? I sighed. Finally, I found a single, withered red-tip leaf lettuce which lay untouched in the vegetable stand._

_Mine._

_I bent down and and attempted to grab it before anyone else could but I grabbed something else. What I felt weren't those wrinkled leaves and round form. I felt cold and soft slender hands. I realized that my hand was placed on top of another one, who presumably touched the lettuce first. No matter how much I wanted the lettuce, if that person touched it first, it was the correct action to let him have it. I could get another one in another supermarket. _

_The hand was drawn back. I straightened up and extended my arms to give him the lettuce._

_But I dropped it._

_Deep sapphire eyes with long eyelashes were staring at me. Said person had raven, straight hair with two strands of hair that refused to be combed and pale skin. He was tall, still shorter than me. _

_... Did Watanuki manage to leave the shop?_

_Wait. Didn't Watanuki have a golden eye that was originally mine? Also, this person looked slightly older and a bit unkempt, contrary to Watanuki who spent everyday taking care of his image and wearing expensive clothing. He was also a bit taller, perhaps 10 centimeters taller than Watanuki and wasn't wearing glasses._

_What's going on... This person is too similar..._

_"What? What's going on?" he said.  
_

_His voice. It was identical to Watanuki's. Except that it was livelier. _

_I was still stunned and couldn't move. I couldn't help but stare at him._

_"Sir, would you please help him?" an employee told me._

_"It's ok, I can do it myself."_

_The Watanuki look-a-like bent down and tried to search for his lettuce._

_"Aww... what a shame, it was my favorite kind... that idiot had to drop it. I'm sure he was also dropped at birth." He muttered._

_So, he had his same tastes as well._

_Although something was off. _

_He was touching the floor, searching for the lettuce which laid near him yet he couldn't reach it. Perhaps he was..._

_"Sir, please help him. He's blind." a random employee told me.  
_

_"I already said I'll do it myself. And stop calling me blind!"_

_I snapped from my confusion, bent down and picked up the vegetable.  
_

_"Here."_

_"Umm... Thanks?"_

_He looked like him, he spoke like him and had his same tastes though he looked slightly older and lacked my golden eye. _

_"I'll walk you home."_

_It was just an excuse to get near him and solve my doubts._

_"Eh... What? No. If you want the stupid lettuce, you can keep it."_

_"But you're blind."_

_"I'm not blind! But I wish I were deaf so I could avoid hearing your annoying voice. Argh, I'm outta here."_

_He turned around and hit the wall. He massaged his nose and tried to exit the supermarket. Once again, he hit another wall, tried to massage his hurt nose again but he accidentally pushed over tuna cans and made a mess._

_"I'll walk you home." I repeated once again._

_"..."_

_I grabbed his hand and felt a warm sensation in my chest. _

_Said sensation lasted a few seconds.  
_

_"What the hell are you doing?!" He quickly detached his hand, slapping mine in the process.  
_

_"You're blind." I said with an obvious tone._

_"I'm telling you I'm not blind! Geez, listen to me."_

_"Then why are-"_

_"I forgot my glasses, that's why!"_

_I didn't know whether to believe him or not. Perhaps I should since he was looking at my direction.  
_

_"Look," he said and tried to prove his point "I know that guy over there has a yellow sweater." He pointed at a random guy who had a yellow-  
_

_"Jacket." I corrected._

_"Like I care! It's yellow, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah. But it's a jacket. A short one."_

_"I don't caaareeee!" He screamed. "The thing is I'm not blind. I can also see that you're a huge giraffe."_

_"No. I'm a human being." Before he could reply I added. "See? You're blind."_

_"I meant your height, you stupid. Your height! Also, if I was blind, how could I have distinguished that lettuce from the others?"_

_"Help."_

_"No, I didn't ask for help."_

_"What am I wearing?" I asked him._

_"Umm..." he squeezed his eyes a bit.  
_

_"A black coat and black trousers."_

_"Wrong."_

_"Huh? B-" _

_"A black pinstriped pattern trenched coat, a gray white long sleeve shirt, black pinstriped pattern trousers, dark socks, leather black shoes and tartan boxers."_

_A vein popped on his forehead._

_"You're blind." I told him._

_"WAIT! How do you expect me to exactly describe your stupid outfit? Pinstriped pattern? How do you expect me to see those tiny lines without glasses? Also, tartan boxers? Are you stupid, they should be black!"_

_"Nobody can see my underwear, so why should it match?"_

_"Gh... Argh! You're annoying!"_

_"Red."_

_"What?"_

_"Red tartan boxers."_

_"That's even **worse**!!!" His scream should have been louder, yet I could barely hear him now. And then I realized that my hands had moved by themselves and my two index fingers covered my ears. "Thanks, I won't be able to sleep tonight!" he screamed once again.  
_

_I can't remember when was the last time I shielded my eardrums this way. Once again, I felt that weird sensation in my chest: Nostalgia. _

_"What! You can stop covering your ears, I've already stopped screaming!"_

_"You're still screaming."_

_"Shut up! You know, you're wasting my time." He left the supermarket.  
_

_This person was strangely too similar to the Watanuki I met in high school. I doubted he could be just a look-a-like or a perfect coincidence. He reminded me of Watanuki both physically and emotionally. _

_"Wait!"_

_I ran after him. _

_"What's your name?"_

_l__  
_

"Did he tell you?" Mokona asked. The black thing was worried. I thought he would love news of this sort.

"Of course not. He said he wouldn't give his name to a retarded jerk who wore red tartan boxers under a black coat."

"He really is Watanuki" Mokona drank and giggled. "Wata-Wata-uki-nuki-nu!" He sang.

"He refused my offer of walking him home and took a bus before I could catch him. He tripped over and hit his head near the door, of course."

"Wata-nuki-nuki is clumsy but he's very independent. Ah! But Mokona recalls he never forgot his glasses! He sometimes slept with them and bent them!"

"I know. It's weird."

"But, you know it could be that he's go- Shh! Watanuki-puki has awoken!"

The shoji screen opened and revealed Watanuki's slender figure. He was wearing Yuuko's white yukata which fitted him loosely. He looked tired.

"Are you going to stay the night?"

"Yeah."

"The bath is free. You can use it. Clean it afterward."

"Thanks."

"Oh... and about what we talked before I went to take a nap..."

I remained silent. I could only see his backside.

"Just forget about it. You have rights to keep secrets from me- I mean, everyone. Every human being is allowed to keep some things for themselves. I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry."

He walked away.

_l_

_It wasn't a coincidence the fact that we both met once again. Not because of Yuuko's words. This second meeting took place because I came back to the same supermarket everyday and asked the employees about the 'blind guy'. I had to convince them that I wasn't a stalker and that I urgently needed to talk to him.  
_

_There he was, wearing a dark brown jacket and a long, light blue scarf. And no glasses. I didn't know how to approach him without scaring him. I only wanted to know his name... and his entire life. _

_"Huh? What are you doing here!?" He stopped pushing his trolley.  
_

_"Shopping." I stated the obvious. I noticed the guy carried some bags. "Ecological bags?"_

_"Yes. They're giving them for free outside. You should go and get one." Seeing my reaction, which was basically none, he insisted. "I repeat, they are giving out free eco bags. Outside. Now, go."_

_Nice try. I won't let you escape. I need to solve this doubt.  
_

_"I already did my shopping."_

_"Why are you here?"_

_"I wanted to meet you."_

_He was taken aback by my straightforwardness. I have mastered the knowledge of dealing with Watanuki after years and years of failures and successes. This knowledge could also be applied to this strange look-a-like. _

_"... What?"_

_"I need to talk to you."_

_"... What if I say 'no'?" He was annoyed._

_"Won't accept it."_

_Watanuki swallowed his reply and decided to ignore me. He looked at his buying list, and went towards the Diary Section. I followed him. He pretended I was not there and tried his best to do his weekly shopping as he usually did. It was interesting to see him doing it himself despite having no glasses. He sometimes stumbled a bit and chose a wrong product. The employees were kind and they helped him get what he needed. They also ignored me but I could feel their stares on me.  
_

_Watanuki joined the supermaket queue. I placed myself behind him. _

_"Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! You are driving me insane! What do you want?!"_

_"Talk."_

_"Ugh, NO! You creep me out! Go bother someone else."_

_'What might be interpreted as lucky event can also mean the misfortune of others'. It's ironic to recall that phrase Watanuki said to one of his first clients when the 'unfortunate' person was practically Watanuki's clone. I stared at the long queue with a satisfied smirk. _

_"Excuse me. Are you a stalker?" The guy tried to be cordial with me in a strange way._

_"No. I just need to talk with you." I didn't want to give him the wrong impression so I avoided teasing him. For now.  
_

_"So... if I talk with you, would you leave me alone?!" He was exasperated. _

_"Probably."_

_"Whatever, the queue is long and I'm bored. So, what do you need to know?"_

_"Name."_

_"Could you say at least 'What is your name'?!"_

_"What is your name."_

_My whole body tensed up, already anticipating the answer.  
_

_"Kimihiro Watanuki. There, happy?"_

_Never before had my body threatened to take away my self-control. A lot of emotions strengthened the already tied knot in my stomach. I wanted to embrace him, tell him how much I missed him and I wanted him to make fun of me for behaving and feeling this way._

_"What? I don't have glasses but I can tell that you're making a weird face."_

_I kept on restraining myself and opted to respond as I would normally do.  
_

_"If you are not wearing your glasses, then how did you recognize me? I'm not wearing a coat."_

_"I don't know. I guess there's something strange about you. Like if you had a strange... aura or something. I don't know." I found him. This may prove this person is Watanuki. "Or maybe because you're a freak and everyone can sense freaks!" This definitely proves this person is him  
_

_I knew I shouldn't get excited. My mind told me I should find this whole situation bizarre and report it to the real Watanuki. Yet, my emotions threatened to betraye me at any second. _

_"More questions."_

_"Can I ask you one after you're done?" Why not?  
_

_"Sure. How old are you?"_

_"Hmm... 23 I think."_

_"Do you like to cook?"_

_"Umm... yes. A lot."_

_"Are you good at cleaning?"_

_"Yes- wait! Is this a survey?"_

_"For myself, yes."_

_"I'm not going to get tired of repeating this but you do really freak me out."_

_I know this kind of behavior would freak out everyone. At least I've found out that he's very similar to him. That's all I needed to know and tell Watanuki. _

_"Sir?" The cashier was irritated._

_"Ah! I'm sorry" The guy who was also named 'Watanuki' paid the contents on his trolley._

_It was already late. I should have arrived at the shop fifteen minutes ago._

_"Thanks for answering." I was about to leave when the guy pulled me back._

_"Wait, you ungrateful jerk! What about MY question?"_

_I forgot about that._

_"And I want you to answer it truthfully and with lots of details."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Well..." he avoided my stare. "... do I know you?"_

_

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_

**A/N:**

Doumeki's POV is hard to write. Maybe it's because we are rarely shown what he's thinking?

And Rou's Watanuki is also hard to portray. Sometimes I feel like if I were writing about a Yuuko that tends to behave like Watanuki instead of the other way around.


	3. Sightless

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would have made Doumeki use the egg.

Previous Chapter Summary: Doumeki encountered a person similar to Watanuki a week ago. He walked him to his apartment. Doumeki wonders about this "Watanuki"'s existence. When he entered the shop, Watanuki felt he was hiding something but decided to let it go. Doumeki tells Mokona about this "clone" and the black manjuu asks for more information about him.

* * *

**III. Sightless**

* * *

"What's wrong?" Watanuki was looking a bit thoughtful.

"Umm… it's nothing. Do I look troubled?" He asked me.

"Kinda."

"Well… Syaoran and the rest contacted me two days ago. It seems they are stuck in a dimension."

"Stuck?"

"Yes." He poured sake into his glass. "In a dimension they haven't been before. A weird one indeed."

Syaoran, huh? That woman told me that kid was closer to Watanuki than anyone else. When Watanuki told me he wanted to exist, I couldn't understand it even though I unconsciously knew what he was referring to. I didn't blame Himawari for the accident nor tried to keep her away from him… something deep inside me told me Watanuki had fallen on purpose. And then the day came when that woman told me the whole truth before her death. There were questions she wouldn't answer, such as what would happen to Watanuki.

"There is a presence blocking the access to other dimensions. Whether it consists of an object or a living thing, they are not sure."

"Have they paid a price?"

"Not yet. They still want to figure out what could be causing it. Afterwards, they might request my help." Watanuki yawned. "I am tired, good night."

I was about to stand up and bring more sake when suddenly Mokona came bouncing and landed on my lap.

"You evil! You didn't finish your story!"

"It was because Watanuki approached."

"Watanuki isn't here so tell Mokona what happened!"

_"... do I know you?"_

_I was shocked._

_"… do I know you?" He repeated, louder this time._

_"Do you remember me?"_

_"Not really, but I feel something weird when I look at your eyes."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Like… it's chilly yet warm… my stomach feels weird and my pulse..."_

_"Like butterflies in your stomach and an increased heartbeat?" _

_"Ye- wait? NO! That's totally wrong! Maybe like NAUSEA because my stomach feels terrible and my heart beats fast because I'm fucking scared of a creepy stalker!"_

_"I'm not a stalker."_

_"Says the stalker!" He screamed._

_My mobile phone rang during that moment. The ID read 'Watanuki'._

_"Hold on." I told the other Watanuki._

_"Why should I wait for you? Do you think I'm dumb or someth-"_

_"I still haven't answered your question." I picked up the phone. I knew I would speak with Watanuki in front of Watanuki, so I should be careful. "Oi." I answered. I couldn't hear him clearly, the reception was low and there was static._

_"Bye. I've got more important things to do." The mysterious Watanuki said in a cold way and headed towards the bookstore. _

_"Doumeki, this is Watanuki. Can you hear me?" _

_"No."_

_"You never change, do you?" The original Watanuki sighed. "I want you to bring me a book with a thick hard cover. I need it for a client."_

_"Got it." I hanged up. Can you hear me? I wonder what this strange Watanuki would have said. _

_Speaking of the new Watanuki, I knew I shouldn't treat this event lightly. This new person could be a threat or might signify a misfortune. I needed to solve the mystery and uncover if this Watanuki was really a representation of the original one and, if he was, why was he here._

_I headed towards the bookstore. The impostor was looking at the books with a weird expression. He held a pricy dictionary and tried to read the book cover but apparently couldn't, even if the word 'Dictionary' had the height of a cherry. I remembered Watanuki needed glasses but I doubted his eye measurement was too high to not being able to read such gigantic letters._

_"It says 'Dictionary'."_

_"Ah. Thank you, sir." He smiled and turned around. As expected, his smile faded when he saw me. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Running an errand."_

_"Is your errand to stalk people?" _

_He placed the dictionary in its original place and instead grabbed a manga._

_"This one is good!" He opened it and flipped the pages. He read a couple of manga panels and smiled. _

_"Wait."_

_"Look, if you want money I will give it to you." He looked pretty pissed off. _

_"I'm a stalker, not a thief."_

_"Yeah, right. At least you accept it now. What do you want Mr. Stalker?"_

_"How can you read the manga if you couldn't read the word Dictionary? How could you shop for the things you needed yet a lettuce fell in the white floor and couldn't grab it?"_

_The Watanuki-look-alike fell silent._

_"I don't know… I never thought about that…" He trembled a bit._

_"Oi." I tapped his elbow. He didn't answer._

_I decided to let him be for today. I could search for him afterwards; I knew where he lived, where he hanged out and his daily routine. I found the book with the thickest hard cover and was about to leave the shop when suddenly the guy tapped my shoulder._

_"You are the worst. If you are going to stalk someone, then do a proper job and stalk them all day."_

_This was strange. Very strange._

_"Do you need me?" He didn't answer. "Hey."_

_"When I go out of this store, I will probably fall and start suffocating. Yesterday I tripped over in the middle of the pedestrian crossing and couldn't get up. I nearly got run over by a car. The day before I felt I was being carried and ended up bruised."_

_Spirits? Where the spirits haunting this Watanuki?_

_"I don't like you and I don't need you. I don't know why I said that, just forget it. I can manage on my own."_

_"Oi."_

_"What? Make it quick."_

_"Can you see spirits?"_

_He looked at me as if I have told him the earth was flat._

_"Spirits? Are you a fan of the occult or something?" _

_"Why do you think you fall and suffocate?"_

_"I have a strange condition, the doctors told me that."_

_"Yes and no." The guy flinched. _

_A Watanuki who could only see certain things. A Watanuki who was haunted by spirits but couldn't see them and believed he had a medical condition. A strange Watanuki, indeed._

_"You have a strange condition but it's not medical."_

_"What do you know about me? You know me, do you?"_

_"I don't know you." I wasn't lying. I didn't know this Watanuki. "But I know what is wrong with you. Go ahead, I will show you." _

_The guy humphed and ventured outside. I covered my original eye and concentrated on the eye that allowed me to see spirits. The new Watanuki was being followed by a bunch of evil spirits. There were even a couple of ghosts in front of him but he didn't see them. I followed him from a large distance, to ensure the spirits didn't take notice of my presence. When he entered a deserted street, one of the spirits grabbed his ankle. He fell to the floor. The other spirit positioned itself on top of him. A third one tried to eat his head. He started to cough and pant. He looked pitiful. _

_I stepped closer. He didn't have enough strength to turn his neck and gaze at me but his eyes did._

_"I have the power to repel them. Spirits."_

_As I approached, the smallest spirit holding his ankle vanished. I made sure this person noticed that by being idle for a couple of seconds. Another two steps near made the second spirit on top of him disappear. Once again I stood there for a while for him to notice the difference. Four more steps towards him made the third spirit scream and dissolve. _

_He was lying on there on the road, trying to regain his breath. _

_"You need me. Kimihiro Watanuki."_

_"Dou…meki…" He fainted. _

A/N:

Ack, I suck for not updating D:

I had completely forgot about this story because I felt DouWata had died a bit

(Himawari's "I love you", the spider lady, the marriage, etc)

and because 10 more years passed in the manga,

so I thought "what's the point of continuing this?

will anyone read it?"

But Bottled Up sent me a review that motivated me to continue it (: thanks!


	4. Prison

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would have drawn adult Himawari and her husband.

Previous Chapter Summary: Syaoran tells Watanuki they are stuck in one dimension. Mokona wants to know how Doumeki met the new Watanuki. The other Watanuki can't see spirits and can't read certain things. Doumeki tells him he's being haunted by spirits and he needs his help.

* * *

**IV. Prison  
**

* * *

**I**

"Good morning, Shizuka. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes. Thank you, mother."

She grabbed the teapot and poured tea into my mug. The TV was turned on the news channel.

"Kintarou Wada, aged 53 and sentenced four years ago for attempted murder and arson, was found dead with his eyes gorged out and his throat-"

"Oh my. How terrible." My mother said.

I did not care about the news. My mind was busy trying to decipher the mysterious appearance of this new Watanuki and what could I do to get near him and gather more information. Why now? Why didn't he appear as soon as Watanuki decided to stay in the shop?

"I made cookies. Miss Horiumi Kida taught me this new recipe to make them more soft and delicious."

"-the police have mounted a search for the culprit. Self-mutilation was discarded due to the wounds being-"

"Mom. We should turn the TV off." This was disgusting.

No matter how pure and kind someone tried to be, there was always darkness lurking beneath our emotions. Even if I criticized my mother for being addicted to these kind of news despite her good nature, I was more or less the same. Even if I tried to purify myself, Watanuki managed to invade my dreams, causing nightmares and weakening my spiritual power. Before meeting Watanuki I felt safe and my spiritual strength protected me from harm. As that woman told me five years ago, doubts and fears weaken your spiritual strength.

"We are talking about a sick piece of work here." A policeman said. "One eye was found inside his throat. The other one was found inside his duodenum completely intact. This is both disgusting and impos-"

I switched off the TV, finished my breakfast and headed towards the shop.

Mokona greeted me.

"Doumeki! Doumeki! Watanuki said you aren't c-"

Watanuki ran towards Mokona and stomped on him. He was mad but had a light blush at the same time.

"No more sake for you!" He told the black creature.

"Eh? Evil!" Mokona complained.

The hours went by very quickly. It was a calm and cozy Sunday. Watanuki prepared delicious treats and we drank until midnight.

"You should be going. You have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Before you go… I want to ask you a question."

"Go on."

His gaze hardened. I felt tempted to avoid eye contact by the way he was staring at me.

"Is there any presence or event which you would consider strange in your world?"

Watanuki. The new Watanuki.

"Yeah." I answered. I wanted to tell him everything. Even if the other Watanuki behaved like his past self, this was the Watanuki I met and swore to protect.

"I see. Is it an object? A living thing? Perhaps a soul or a supernatural entity?"

"Not sure. The entity looks like a human being."

Watanuki exhaled smoke through Yuuko's pipe.

"That's it. You can go."

Should I tell him the new identity looks like him? Part of me wanted to tell him but the other one pestered me to keep it as a secret.

"Do you want to know more?"

"No. Perhaps another time but not now. You should be going. Besides, if you gave me more information, I would have to pay you and I don't want that." He scowled.

"Ok." I drank another cup of sake and stood up. "Take care, then."

"Good night."

"Nightie night Doumeki!" Mokona kissed me on the cheek.

I left the shop and walked towards Watanuki's old apartment. I needed to ask him some questions. It was a weird sensation to have some spirits glaring at me. No spirit dared to neither approach me nor attack me. Nonetheless, they were closer than usual. I realized my spiritual barrier might have slightly weakened. I made a mental note to take care of this later.

I found the landlady carrying shopping bags despite the late hour. She greeted me.

"Are you Doumeki-kun? Watanuki's friend?"

"Yeah. Is he here?"

She gave me a puzzled look and then shook her head.

"I'm afraid he disappeared four years ago without saying anything. I'm worried about him. He's a big boy now, all I can do is pray for his safety and now that he will be fine on his own."

Watanuki wasn't living here? Then where did the guy live?

"Sorry to bother you."

"No, not at all. Give me a call if you know something about him."

"Ok."

Maybe he lived in another apartment. At least I knew which supermarket he goes to, so he shouldn't be too far away from here.

I tried to find his window, the one which I used to climb.

The lights were on and there was someone on the room. I decided to take the risk and climb through the window. I carefully set my feet on the floor, trying to make the least noise possible. It wasn't that hard because I heard laughter coming from inside.

The Watanuki look-a-like was there, laying on his bed and reading a manga while eating cheese puff balls.

* * *

**II**

"I love taking baths!" Mokona giggled. He ate the soap. The stupid thing!

"Don't eat the soap! I still haven't used it!" I hit his head and made him throw out the soap.

"Watanuki is so evil!"

Doumeki was going to arrive here in ten minutes but who cares if he arrives too soon, I wanted to take a bath. He would have to wait a bit.

"Watanuki's nipples are so pink!"

"Hey!" I covered my chest and blushed.

"Everyone has pink nipples! Yuuko's nipples were pink as well! I bet Himawari-chan and Kohane-chan have pink nipples."

"Oi. Oi. You should be careful with the things you say." Even if Mokona was innocent, the way he said it sounded completely wrong and very perverted. Very.

"Watanuki uki duki woouu! Doumeki will arrive soon! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Yeah, yeah. He can wait. Besides, he hasn't come that much during this week. He's not on his exam week, so why did he take so long to bring me a lettuce and a book? And to be late for dinner? Gee, I'll never get along with that guy."

"Is Watanuki sad because Doumeki isn't coming to often? Is he sad because he fears Doumeki will get bored of him?"

Mokona was right. But I wasn't going to accept that, no way in hell. I decided to pinch his ear and then ignored him.

"Owie!"

"Maru. The towel. Moro. Bring me a blue yukata."

"Yes!" Both girls answered.

Doumeki arrived on time. I swear the jerk has a freaking Swiss clock in this stomach.

"Doumeki! Doumeki! Watanuki said you aren't c-"

MOKONA! I stomped on him, furiously. Why would I care if Doumeki took so long or didn't come? I have other friends and many things to do. Him being here is just a nuisance, instead of making him breakfast I could do something useful.

Speaking of said idiot, he looked troubled today. He had been acting slightly weird one week ago. Not exactly bizarre but I could feel he had been looking at me differently. Honestly, I didn't like that at all.

I spent most Sundays with Doumeki. It had become a routine. No matter how I hated to accept it, he kept me company and somehow I felt glad he was here.

"Is there inari sushi?"

"If you want some, go fetch me the ingredients."

"Ok. But make plenty." He answered. If he wanted his sushi, he would have to buy the ingredients with his own money and help me prepare them.

Fifteen minutes had passed since he left when suddenly Mokona's eyes opened wide and I received a transmission from Syaoran and the other two.

"Watanuki."

"What is wrong?"

"We have found out more information about what could be going on. The next world where Mokona was supposed to take us was your shop. However, there is a presence blocking the entrance towards your world. The other dimensions are not affected."

"How do you know other dimensions are not affected?"

"Fay-san used his magic to travel to another random dimension. We arrived in Nihon Country."

"You are lucky." I smiled.

"Yes." He smiled widely. "Still, when the time came for us to leave Nihon Country, Mokona's wings maded and she fainted. We also heard a loud noise and felt as if our hands and feet were tied."

"Like the previous dimension you were stuck on."

"Yes. Tomoyo-san used her abilities and said the next dimension we were supposed to arrive in was your shop."

"So," I tried to order what I currently knew. "the previous dimension you were stuck on was supposed to send you to my shop but the ability to cross across dimensions was halted. And then the magician sent you to a random dimension. Said world was also supposed to send you here but there was-"

"A barrier."

"A barrier, you say."

"Yes. A powerful one." Syaoran looked worried. "I don't know how long should I stay in a dimension before affecting it. I don't want to alter Nihon's country."

"I understand. You want me to find the barrier here or in Nihon Country?"

"Princess Tomoyo said you would not be able to see it if it was in your world since you don't belong to your own dimension."

"I know. Be sure to tell me your choice. I will be waiting."

"Thank you."

Doumeki arrived with the ingredients and two bottles of sake, which we drank until the moonlight.

I wondered if he had sensed a weird entity. As expected, he had noticed it and was looking troubled. He told me it looked like a human being but, to be honest, my trust in his supernatural abilities had slightly decreased due to Doumeki's power having weakened during the last week for reasons I am not yet able to precisely detect. The ring I gave him was not only for my protection but for his as well. I felt the information he gave me was not enough for solving the mystery yet I restrained myself from asking for more. In the shop there are different rules from those in the real world. Exchanging information without proper payment, even if it is obtained in a subtle, casual way, could be dangerous. I needed to think carefully of a price and how to involve Doumeki's payment for further information in the quest Syaoran gave me. I have only 4 years of experience in the shop and I don't want to make any more mistakes.

This was more stressful than what I thought. Syaoran has just arrived in Nihon Country and there is a limited amount of time before he starts altering it.

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews, if it weren't for them, I would have thought the xxxHOLiC fandom was dead, or at least in ffnet. _


	5. Contract

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would have drawn topless Doumeki for an entire arc. Yeah!

Previous Chapter Summary: Watanuki wanted to know more about this entity but couldn't ask for more information because he knew there was a price involved. Doumeki visits the other Watanuki at his apartment. The shop owner tries to find out why Syaoran and the rest are being blocked from his dimension.

* * *

**V. Contract  
**

* * *

**I**

"I've heard of you! You are Doumeki Shizuka! The grandchild of Haruka Doumeki!"

"Yeah."

There was an overenergetic and overexcited guy following me across the hall.

"So you have sort of, you know, special powers?"

"Uh?"

"Woah! That's amazing! What kind of powers? How do you activate them?" The redhead made strange 'pow' and 'brrooom!' noises while fisting an imaginary opponent.

"Hey."

"Huh?" He looked at me with eyes filled with admiration as if I was his childhood hero.

I was about to tell him politely to leave when the fake Watanuki came rushing towards me.

"You stupid Doumeki!" He smacked me with a book. "How dare you!"

The redhead guy looked quite surprised to see Watanuki. Nothing out of the ordinary considering he was a drama queen 24/7.

"You SNEAKED last night into my apartment. I thought I had kicked you out but you DARED to put a NOTE in my book listing what you wanted for dinner. And guess what? The teacher accidentally grabbed my book, then took a look at the list you made and asked me _'hey Watanuki-kun, can you really make all of these dishes'_? I told her yes I could, and now she wants her own share! She even said she was going to grade it!"

"Tell him you're busy."

"Yeah, I'm really busy."

"For cooking his dish. Not for mine."

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Do you think I'm-!" He noticed the redhead. "Uh!" He blushed in embarrassment since he knew he was making a fool out of himself. He did all the time but he barely noticed. "I'm sorry!" He bowed down. "You must think I'm some sort of freak." He muttered.

"You are some sort of freak." I added.

Before Watanuki could flail, the redhead spoke.

"I'm just surprised that you are so different from the first time I met you."

"Huh? We've met before?" Watanuki asked him.

"Yeah. You said you would grant my wish."

"Grant… your wish? What are you talking about?"

Me, the one who normally wore a blank facade, couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

"Huh?" The redhead was puzzled. "Oh! Sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else! Now that I remember, the guy I met had different colored eyes. Sorry, my mistake!"

"Oh… wait. You mean there's someone who looks like me, save for the eyes?"

"Yeah. Well, I think so, maybe I'm just mixing up stuff… tends to happen!" The redhead scratched the back of his neck. "Well, see ya!" He left.

"I wonder what was that about… Hey, Doumeki? Do you think there are people who look exactly like you? …Doumeki?"

"… Maybe… We're going to be late."

"Oh! That's right!"

* * *

_(THE SHOP)_

_**II**_

Watanuki laid on the couch, playing with an old Gameboy color. I suppose it was one of the items someone game to him as a payment. I could hear the 8bit tune from the shop entrance.

"Oh, you came. There are appetizers on the kitchens, help yourself."

"Uh." I answered back but continued to stare at him.

"Something wrong?"

"I met your customer…"

"Oh, which one?"

"One with red hair and brown eyes."

"Oh. That one. He's not my customer, yet." He put he game aside and smiled wryly. "His wish requires a considerable price to pay. He is still considering whether it is worth paying for it. Otherwise, the fulfillment of his wish will become the nightmare of a close person to him. What he decides it's up to him: whether to choose his own happiness or the happiness of another and base his own happiness on it. Speaking of him, here he is…"

The redhead entered the shop, looking for its owner. He recognized me and smiled.

"Oh! The famous Doumeki Shizuka! I didn't know I would find you in here!"

"Neither did I." I answered back. And feared what he would inevitably say.

"They look very alike, don't they? It's amazing! The shop owner and your friend! Save for their eyes, they are different! Are they sort of twins?"

"Doumeki's friend?" Watanuki ogled me.

I was getting nervous by each passing minute. I knew I should tell Watanuki the strange incident but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Yeah." The redhead smiled. "Are you related?"

I thought Watanuki was going to question me any minute. Instead, he just smiled and said:

"Well, let's get to the business, shall we? Would you like some tea? Doumeki, please go make some."

Several hours went by and Watanuki didn't mention the issue, not even after his customer had left. But he gave me a look... a look I just couldn't describe with words, one that he had never given me before. As if I had deceived him...

"I'll be going." I grabbed my bag.

Instead of the usual 'be careful on your way home' or 'see you tomorrow', he nodded at me and plainly said "Ok.", grabbed his kiseru and started smoking as if I had already left. Instead of questioning him, I decided to leave and let him be.

* * *

On the way back home to the temple, I received a text message from the other identity.

'_U jerk! how do u stop thaxhgladfsa'_

I tried calling him. Once. Twice. Thrice. But the line was dead. So, I ran and ran towards his apartment, hoping to find him there.

Luckily, Watanuki's door was unlocked and his groceries were lying messily all over the stairs and the floor. I barged in and found him curled up, hugging his bed sheets tightly, scared and muttering 'pleaseleavepleaseleaveplease leave' with tears in his eyes.

"Oi. Watanuki."

He raised his head and stared at me with red eyes.

"MAKE THEM GO AWAY!"

I noticed his arms had fresh cuts near his wrists. I closed the eye that couldn't see spirits and concentrated on seeing the things with the other. I noticed he was being plagued and suffocated by hungry spirits concentrated on hurting him rather than just being stuck to him like they did to the original Watanuki. These seemed to be highly sadistic.

The spirits started going berserk when I got closer to them. The fake Watanuki was still clutching his bed sheets as if there was nothing else he could hold onto. He was wrong. He could hold onto me. He didn't know that, so I'd have to teach him that for his own good. Real or fake, shop owner or university student, Watanuki in whichever form he was, was still an idiot.

I sat next to him, which scared the spirits away. They didn't leave the apartment but rather waited outside the windows, staring at him, hungrily and presumably waiting until I left so they could still haunt Watanuki.

The fake blue eyed boy was sobbing silently and wouldn't dare look at me. I sat there for many minutes until I heard him mutter.

"I somehow… sensed them… following me… so I ran till here, thinking I would be sheltered… I tried locking the door but they threw away my keys right before my eyes… and then…" he pulled his hair, then clutched his face. He was desperate.

He still wouldn't dare to meet my gaze and was still shaking.

"And then… I didn't know what to do when I felt weight on top of me... when they grabbed me and touched me… I can't stand them!… I must be going mad! Fuck! FUCK!"

I kept silent and gave him time to feel safe around me.

"You can see these things... Are the spirits nearby?"

"Yes." I felt his body twitch. "They're waiting outside the window… But you're safe now. Trust me."

"I don't want to depend on you…"

"You have no choice…"

"Just let me be… I'll manage." He himself didn't believe it either.

"I'll help you. I can repel them. The things that haunt you. Even if you don't believe me, you know I'm being honest. No spirit is touching you right now."

"I'm not some charity project or someone to be pitied."

"I will not help you for free. It'll cost you."

I knew his pride would be protected by said statement.

"I don't have money… I've got a scholarship."

"I'm not asking you for money."

"Then?" The wiped away his tears with his sleeves and looked defiantly at me.

"I don't have time to make my own food. I need someone to make my lunch."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Ok then. One day of protection for one lunchbox...?" He looked at me skeptically. Even so, his eyes were still red but he didn't care.

"Of my choice."

"You sure are PICKY!"

"You can start now."

"Huh?" What do you mean NOW?!"

"There are hungry spirits outside so I should stay the night in here. So you need to pay me right now."

"Wait Wait Wait! You are staying the night in here?! And you want me to cook for you? Right now? 11pm?"

"Make some oden with maguro sushi."

"AND YOU ARE ALSO TELLING ME WHAT TO COOK?!"

"And hurry it up."

"Gee! You are the worst! I should better get talismans or stuff like that! I feel as if I've just signed a treat with the devil himself! Maybe with the Lord of the Porks!"

He headed towards his kitchenette, making sure that no spirits were nearby and gulped. He sighed.

"I don't have a futon, you'll have to sleep on the floor. Hey! That's mine! Don't touch my manga!"

* * *

I woke up the next morning on Watanuki's bed in a very uncomfortable position. I must have slept 1 hour or so since both of us stayed awake watching TV, arguing and playing Majong. Watanuki was sleeping peacefully on the floor, muttering "stupid Doumeki stupid sushi stupid-". He still had his casual clothes on, he said he would not wear his pijamas infront of me. Why he ended up on the floor and I on his bed, I don't know but I'm sure he will shout at me when he wakes up and finds out that I took his bed from him. I swear it wasn't intentional. Worst of it, he had a small bump on his head, as if he had rolled over from his bed to the floor. And I'd kept his pillow and bedsheets while he was just curled up on the floor. Now that I think of it, this was the first time I've slept over at a friends' house, not counting Watanuki's shop. I didn't have many friends, if any, at school so I didn't go to any sleep overs when I was little.

Both of us had forgotten to turn off the TV, so the second sound I heard that morning was the announcing of the rape and murder of a fifteen-year-old girl named Miharu Tamakawa and how unusual it had been. I turned it off and yawned. Today was going to be a long day.

"D...D... DOU-ME-KI!"

Oh shi-!

* * *

_**(SYAORAN'S POV)**_

"The clouds are getting thicker…" Soel Mokona sighed.

"We should get going. We can't alter this dimension anymore." I sighed as well.

"ARRGH! This is damn irritating! Tell the witch we will pay anything but get us out of here! It's boring as hell!"

"Please, be patient… I know he's figuring something…"

I noticed Fay looked extremely gloomy.

"Oi! What's wrong?" Kurogane asked him, noticing that as well.

"We must be careful…" Fay's gaze was lost on the ground.

"What do you mean by that?! You're freaking me out!" Kurogane-san grabbed Fay's shoulders and started shaking him. "What is it? Tell us?"

Fay's somber expression changed to his usual cheerful one. "Maybe it's my imagination! Hyuuuu!"

"Oi! Don't joke with us!"

"Fay-san…" something inside me told me he was lying.

"We have to protect our little dog, ne? Kurowanwan?" He smiled.

"Syaoran-kun..." Soel Mokona gazed at me.

"Fay-san...?"

"I sense death... near us." Fay whispered.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading ^^ This was quite a slow chapter but I needed to explain how Doumeki and fake Watanuki signed a sort of 'contract' paralleling the one they had before and how both of them formed a connection. This means it will be harder to get rid of the fake one but helps Watanuki detecting the issue... Woops!_


	6. The Loner

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would have forced Funimation to dub the second season and the movies.

Previous Chapter Summary: A weird guy from Doumeki's career mistook the fake Watanuki with the real one because he had entered the shop. He even mentioned said incident to the real Watanuki. Meanwhile, the fake entity was being chased by spirits. Doumeki and Watanuki make a deal about protecting the later from spirits in exchange for lunch.

Note: This takes place in the Horitsuba Dimension.

* * *

**VI. The Loner**

* * *

**I.**

I've been having the same dream over and over again.

About a bird.

About a beautiful and graceful bird which flies towards its own imminent death. Which gets gracefully ripped apart. Its feathers glide on the deathly breeze that surrounds its decease.

When its agonizing face stops showing any kind of life and its chest stops moving, the white concrete ground beneath my feet darkens. Red veins start spreading through the walls, trying to reach me. I stand still, waiting to be reached by them, waiting to become one with them.

However, just when they are about to consume me, I wake up, sweating, gasping for air and feeling nauseous.

Tonight had been no exception.

I had woken up in what could possibly be the worst of my moods. Even though nobody would notice it due to being used to hiding my emotions and keeping my cool, that didn't mean I wouldn't be vaguely grumpy today. My head still hurt from that dream.

As I was about to grab my school uniform, my phone rang. I wondered who would call me this early in the morning.

I picked it up, unwillingly.

"Hello." I tried to be polite.

"Oi! Doumeki! You took my chopsticks! I left them on the table and you grabbed them! How am I supposed to eat today?!""

Oh. That's right. I remember finding a pair of chopsticks on the school cafeteria, which looked like mine and I took them. Then, I noticed I had two pairs when I was on my way home. I don't know who had seen me take his chopsticks and who told him (considering he was a loner) but I couldn't care less right now.

I yawned and told the idiot that he could eat with his bare hands, and that it was accepted in some cultures so there was nothing to worry about. But he wouldn't let me hang up just like that.

"What? You expect me to just grab the rice with my BARE hands in front of Himawari-chan and eat like a goddamned pork? Thanks to you?"

If it had been any other person, I would have apologized and told him that I would bring his chopsticks today. However, for some reason, I just couldn't do so with him. He annoyed the hell out of me, as no one had ever done before. In fact, I was neutral about anyone save for this individual, which drove me nuts and caused me headaches just from seeing him. The worst of it: it was nothing personal or something I could explain. He hadn't done anything to me, and vice versa. Yet, we couldn't stand each other's presence.

"It's not my problem if you love eating like a dirty pig but I need CHOPSTICKS because I am a civilized young man and-"

"Don't you have a spare pair of chopsticks at home?"

"No, I don't! Those were MY chopsticks and YOU took them!" He went on and on, screaming over the phone, 6am in the morning, driving me insane, making me want to break my phone in two.

I rolled my eyes while he went on and on about how I was an inconsiderate bastard.

Then, I decided to tell him something I would regret much later when I found out why I shouldn't have said it in the first place.

"Borrow your mom's chopsticks. Or your dad's. Someone in your family has to have a spare pair of chopsticks, so stop being so melodramatic."

The idiot kept silent for a long time. I expected him to rant about that not being a solution, but instead he had given up at last. I was about to hang up until I heard him mutter the following:

"… I fucking hate you, piece of cunt. Keep the chopsticks…"

He was the one that hanged up, not me, while I stood up like an idiot still holding the phone, hearing the beeping noise.

* * *

**II.**

Kimihiro Watanuki was nice to everyone, save me. And I was nice to everyone, save him.

That was the only thing we had in common.

Our personalities were different, the way we treated other people was different, the courses we got the highest grades, and so on. Even our eyes, dark blue and amber, were on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Even though we barely talked to each other, those few times we seemed to exchange a couple of words were filled of incidents. Such as me taking his chopsticks by accident when I had just happened to cross by his seat, leave my food tray for a few seconds to grab some books from a friend, return, grab the nearest chopsticks, and leave.

It is as fate had decided that by no means we should be near each other.

* * *

The school director and ex history teacher was forced to renounce due to a sex scandal with one of his students. Said student, Sakura Kinomoto, had her best friend record one of his harassments and together they managed to expose the tape to the authorities.

Everyone in our class knew that the director who had renounced had been against the classic scholarships for low-income students, as he stated that financial aid should be given to those students who, apart from not being economically sustainable, had a special ability. Students, who were great athletes, had a natural talent in mathematics or sciences, writers, poets, artists, and so on. Said policy, as the corporate board had stated, should be maintained even and unmoved. While the ex-Director had helped defining said policy, the new director would have to implement it, whether they agreed or not.

Watanuki had no special ability or talent. His grades weren't that great either. He was an ordinary guy who happened to suffer from panic attacks.

The board considered his scholarship to be a complete waste of money, and that it could be given to a better student.

Rumors spread like wildfire about the new school director, who happened to be a friend of the previous one.

During the time when there had been no director, the corporate board took charge of Horitsuba. They reduced the budget for the school cafeteria, which made lunch time an agony for many. The food was unswallowable. They also closed clubs which they considered unnecessary and eliminated many of the benefits students had. Watanuki had also stopped coming to school. His scholarship had been suspended, following the new school policy. A scholarship that included free food on campus.

I remember that time I was walking home on a cold rainy night. I was the only one on the street while everyone rested with their families. I had to fetch a book from a friend of my grandfather.

I decided to take the longest road and walk near the riverbank. I loved the sound of the raindrops hitting the water.

However, what I heard weren't only the raindrops.

Watanuki was standing there, holding a dead cat, and facing the river. His red school uniform was dirty and slightly ripped. He had no umbrella, unlike me.

Even though he muttered it, I still heard it, as clear as the water the raindrops were made of.

"I'll die like this too… alone."

* * *

_A/N: _

_We all know that ever since they crossed paths, Watanuki and Doumeki didn't like each other, even though I've read stories where Doumeki seemed to like Watanuki at first sight (heh! I'm against it!). And of course, hearing him mutter "I'll die like this too" won't make him automatically like him either! Feelings are a complex aspect of every person ;) and Doumeki will start having a fruity milkshake of feelings from this point forward. _

___The main story ties up with an event in the Horitsuba-verse._

_Thanks for Reading! See you next chapter!_


	7. Messages

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would have already watched the first episode of the live action adaptation (I can't find it anywhere!)

Previous Chapter Summary: (Horitsuba-verse) Doumeki Shizuka doesn't get along with Kimihiro Watanuki. He believes they will never get along but pities the fact that Watanuki's scholarship is in danger. He overhears Watanuki mutter "I'll die like this too… alone."

Note: This takes place in Tokyo, Watanuki's Shop dimension.

Other!Watanuki's POV.

* * *

**VII. Messages**

* * *

**I.**

Even though it's hard to admit it, I enjoyed spending time with this jerk. He would always demand some strange dish, push my patience to the limits, be as sarcastic as he could be, be nosy about everything… just argh! But even so, he was always there next to me, right when I needed him (and when I didn't too!). He also encouraged me to pursuit my goal: to become the head chef in an exclusive Japanese restaurant. In fact, he had become my sort of guinea pig, tasting every treat I made and offering me advice. I wasn't sure if Doumeki knew how to cook but his advices were always useful. Of course, I'd always complain when he gave one because I kind of felt insulted that the dish didn't turn out to be perfect as I expected them to be.

"Hey! Mr. Red Tartan Boxes! Hurry up!"

We were near the supermarket where we first met. Doumeki was taking his sweet time, which made me want to pull my hair out!

'_Hiroki Nuramatsu, aged 65, was unusually murdered during a flight towards Okinawa. The police reports have stated that-'_

Geez, the news from the TVs at the entrance were depressing as hell! That annoyed me even more!

Oh, by the way I tried to humiliate him by calling him that way. Coming back to this place made me remember that time I met this stalker. He still was a stalker, though. But a useful one, at least. I always told him that though: that if it weren't for the fact that he was a useful stalker, I would have called the police. And Doumeki would answer back, saying that I was developing Stockholm syndrome towards him. Idiot! And why the hell do I smile when I think about that!

"How can you tell I'm wearing red tartan boxes?"

"Huh?"

"You shouldn't be having perverted thoughts in daylight."

"I'm not a pervert! You are the one who told me about your weird underwear!"

"But I'm not the one that kept that in my memory for 2 months, so it must matter to you."

"UGH! No! I-!"

Doumeki poked my shoulder.

"WHAT?!"

"Pervert!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

I stomped inside, furiously grabbing my trolley and fuming, while the people nearby giggled at god knows what faces I was making at that moment I just didn't care let them think what they want I just-

"Oi."

"I told you to shut up!"

"Why are you in the feminine hygiene section?"

That's when I realized I was looking straight at some supersized tampons.

"Ah-AHHH!" I blushed pink, red, purple, and every single color of the spectrum.

"Gee!" I pulled my trolley and went looking for the soy sauce. Oh! Yamasa! The one with the orange cap! That one was my favourite brand!

"Oi."

"Now what?!"

"Zebra."

"Zebra?"

"Blue zebra print boxers."

"Ugh! Why do you wear THAT!?"

"I like them."

"Really?!" The mental image of the jerk wearing those stupid boxers made me want to puke…

"No. And I don't have those."

"Then stop telling me these things and giving me nightmarish mental images!"

"I was right."

I grabbed the soy sauce and put it on my trolley.

"About WHAT?!" I was starting to get pissed off.

"Watanuki the pervert. Pictures me in weird boxers."

"DOUME-" At that moment I wondered if the supermarket personnel wouldn't mind a homicide and a little blood here and there…

* * *

**II.**

After we were done shopping, we walked side by side on the main street towards my apartment.

"You didn't need to do that…" Doumeki complained, rubbing his tiny head bump.

"YOU DESERVE IT FOR MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE PERVERT! AND FOR MAKING THAT OLD LADY SCREAM AT ME! You can't imagine how embarrassed I was because of YOUR fault!"

I promised at that moment that I would never EVER enter that supermarket again. An old lady overheard our conversation, and horrified, screamed at us in front of everyone telling us that two guys shouldn't be flirting this openly, that god would punish me for my insatiable homolust towards this poor man (aka Doumeki), that I should be ashamed and so on while Doumeki was doing his best to avoid snickering at this HORRIBLE and EMBARASSING situation!

I noticed Doumeki was staring somewhere else.

"Dou-?"

He was looking at a guy with red hair and brown eyes. I couldn't explain why but I felt a weird sensation in my gut, something very uncomfortable.

"Hey! Jerk!" I tried to catch his attention but it was useless.

That weird sensation I had increased and I became annoyed with him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"That guy. We know him."

"So?!"

What's so special about that guy?! Oh! I knew him too. That was the guy who greeted Doumeki a few weeks ago, and saw him as a sort of superhero. The one that said I looked like someone else. Why was he hanging out with thugs? Wait-

The guy, who l remembered was kind and naïve, was beating the shit out of the thugs! He was completely unarmed while the thugs had knifes! And the redhead had pinned all of them to the floor! It almost looked as if he was about to kill them! His face… he had an expression I've never seen before in any other human being: filled of hatred and desire to hurt the others, a face which reflected a high degree of insanity.

I started coughing heavily. Even though I couldn't see any smoke, I felt as if I was about to choke!

"Let's go." Doumeki told me. But I couldn't move. This smoke was too much for me to handle!

Doumeki grabbed my hand and tried to pull me.

I noticed the redhead had turned around and looked straight at me.

I froze once again and squeezed Doumeki's hand as hard as I could.

I was about to scream for help when a blonde guy in his early twenties came running towards the scene, screaming "KAI!"

The redhead snapped out of it. The smoke or whatever it was that I couldn't see dissipated entirely. I didn't get to see what happened with the blonde and the redhead because Doumeki pulled me towards him and said firmly: "Watanuki!"

Due to the way he had pulled me, I ended up supporting myself on his chest, both of my hands grabbing his shoulders.

"What…?" I noticed Doumeki had amber eyes. I liked them.

"Are you alright?" He asked me kindly.

"I think so…"

"Doumeki Shizuka?" The blonde guy with glasses approached us. He pulled out an ID, which read "Hiroshi Takano". He was a police detective.

"We need to talk."

This guy seemed pretty serious. It made me nervous. No matter how annoying Doumeki was, I didn't want him to get into trouble.

"Hey!" The scary redhead approached us, running cheerfully. I took three steps back. This guy was weird!

"Doumeki Shizuka!" He smiled. Then, he turned around and looked at me. He smiled at me but I couldn't hide my emotions and took another step back.

"Um…"

There was an awkward silence between us, while Doumeki and the blonde guy made their way towards the police station.

"Did you see it…?" The redhead asked me. He looked gloomy.

"See what?"

"See me… act… strange…"

"Hmm… yeah…"

"I see…"

This guy didn't seem like a bad guy. Still, the way he acted and the fact that he nearly killed 5-armed thugs with nothing but his bare fists still gave me the chills.

"There is no use hiding it now, is it?" He smiled awkwardly.

"Hiding-?"

"Who I am."

The guy pulled out another police detective ID, which read "Keita Amano". Keita? I thought he was named Jin or something like that.

"This is a fake ID. My partner had a fake one too."

"Fake?"

"The name in the ID is also fake, of course." He grinned. "My real name is Etou Kai, pleased to meet you!" He extended his hand.

"Eh! Wait! Wait a minute? Who are you guys? And why did the other guy wanted to question Doumeki?"

"I'm sorry I can't tell you where we work… but the ID we have right now is not completely fake. We are supporting the police at this crucial moment, even if Hal really hates it." He chuckled.

"Hal?"

"Hal Kurabayashi, my partner."

"Ah! You mean the one that was here a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah."

"Umm…" He still didn't explain to me why he suddenly went berserk!

"There is a strange case going on right now and that's why they requested our help. Maybe you know something we don't!" He smiled kindly.

"I'm glad to help but… I don't know if I can be that much help."

"Do you know Kintarou Wada?"

"No."

"Miharu Tamakawa?"

"Nope."

"Hiroki Nuramatsu?"

"I think… I heard about him on the news… He was… murdered I think."

"The three of them were murdered in unusual ways. Wada-san had his eyes gorged out while he sat on his prison cell. No one had been nearby him by the time of the incident and he didn't share his cell with anyone. His throat was also ripped apart in a very clean way. For that, you would need knifes and other tools but there were no cut traces found on his neck, nor his body. Also, the security cameras deactivated during the time of the incident. He wrote a symbol while bleeding to death, despite having no eyes… and he also wrote a brief message on the floor which was interpreted as his last wish."

"That's…"

"Tamakawa-chan, a fifteen year old girl, was raped in her own bedroom while family members were out. The police think she was murdered but we suspect she killed herself afterwards. She belonged to an upper class family and had a wonderful security system. However, the system didn't detect any presence and no traces of another person were found in the crime scene. Not even semen was found inside her, although her body did show signs of an undeniable sexual assault. Like Wada-san, she also wrote a symbol and wrote a very similar message, this time on her mirror, while she bled to her death."

I didn't want to hear more of those stories… And Kai-kun didn't like telling me those stories either by the look of his troubled face but he felt he had the duty to tell me those stories.

"Kai-kun, please-"

"Finally, Nuramatsu-san was murdered inside the plane's bathroom. There was no one inside by the time he got in. And the bathroom was very small so two people could barely fit in. He had his bones broken, along with a cerebral contusion. Even though the brain injury came first, he still wrote the same symbol and the same message…"

Kai-kun grabbed his mobile phone and showed me a weird symbol, which looked like a pointed oval with a curved line in the middle.

"I'm sorry, I have no clue…" I told him.

"I know… I didn't intend you to question you about the symbol but rather about the note. Perhaps you know something…" He smiled wryly.

"What did the notes say?"

Kai swiped his finger across his pictures until he found a picture with the three messages.

They said:

_**Bury my remains at the Doumeki Shintoist temple.**_

_**plz bury me at Doumeki's ! xoxoxo**_

_**I wish to be buried at the Doumeki temple**_

For a brief moment, the three of them materialized in front of me, completely disfigured, naked, with no eyeballs nor nostrils, and their bodies showing the cruel treatment their murderer gave them. Their chests were torn apart, allowing me to see their hearts beating. It had the symbol engraved in the form of thick blue veins.

They smiled at me with their rotten teeth._**'I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!'**_They said, before fading away.

* * *

_A/N: _

_Thanks for leaving reviews! I really appreciate it! __ The two characters are from the (underrated) manga SWITCH. I needed a couple of investigators as secondary characters for this fic so instead of creating an OC I used those two. If you can, read the manga, it's great! (The OVAs are so-so and you don't get to see Kai's insanity!)_


	8. Hiragana

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would make the Live Action drama last longer than 8 episodes!

Previous Chapter Summary: Two uncovered investigators aiding the police tell Doumeki and (fake) Watanuki about the strange deaths and how are those linked to Doumeki's temple.

Note: The first part is set on the Horitsuba-verse and the second one, in the original Watanuki's time.

* * *

**VIII. Hiragana**

* * *

(Horitsuba verse)

**I.**

Last night I dreamt of my dead grandfather. He was riding a white horse with our family logo, shooting arrows at evil spirits. I admired him until the end of his days.

I remember that time when I had just barely turned 10. He approached me, wearing his favorite hakama and carrying his bow.

"_Shizuka-chan is getting stronger every passing day, isn't he?" He said, while smiling._

"_Yes." I answered back._

"_Good." He patted my head. "Now that you've become stronger, you should also know that you can also become strong for others."_

"_Strong for others?"_

"_Strong for the ones you love."_

"_You mean protect them? Like you do?"_

"_Being strong for another person is not only protecting them from danger. It is being there when they need you, make them know they can trust you, be their light when they can't see anything but pure darkness."_

"_I don't get it, grandfather."_

"_You will when you get older." He patted my head._

_He sat down next to me and proceeded to smoke. _

"_Grandfather, you are very strong. You can see spirits, talk to them and even repel the evil ones. How can I do that?"_

"_You have abilities too, Shizuka-chan. You will discover them soon."_

"_But I can't see spirits… like you do."_

_My grandfather exhaled and told me something that was hard for me to accept. _

"_You are a good boy, Shizuka-chan. But you have one flaw. You tend to be selfish at times."_

"_Selfish?" I couldn't believe it._

_My grandfather's smile turned bitter._

"_You would be courteous enough to help those who requested your help as long as it is on your reach. But you wouldn't devote your own life to help others in need. You wouldn't invest your time helping other people with their fears and problems."_

"_That's because I don't have your abilities, grandfather."_

"_That's because you haven't found a real motivation, yet."_

"_Grandfather. I would help you unconditionally!" _

"_When I mean other people, I mean strangers, Shizuka-chan. People you don't know. I see you as the kind of person who would give them advice but not meddle that much. Since you wouldn't care about their issues. You would also detach yourself from any social relationships. Partying, going out with friends, hanging out… you are most likely to be uninterested in those. You restrain your emotions too much, and hence, it damages your social bonding with others."_

"_How can I avoid that, grandfather?"_

"_You can't, Shizuka-kun. It's part of your personality, and part of who you are." He pointed at my chest while saying that. "And I must confess that I am sometimes scared that the right person won't come at that right time to change that on you."_

"_The right person?"_

"_Yes. This person is your soulmate. This person will change you and you will change that person as well. It is the person that will give you that spark of motivation in your life, the one you will devote your mind, body and soul for. The one you will be willing to give your eyes, your blood and your own life for."_

"_Grandfather, what is a soulmate?"_

"_A soulmate is someone you are bonded with. Someone who was meant to be for you, and that you were meant to be for that person."_

"_Forever?"_

"_Forever."_

"_How do I know who is my soulmate? I want to know it."_

_My grandfather laughed._

"_Oh, Shizuka-chan. Your soulmate is someone who needs you."_

"_Someone who needs me?"_

"_Someone that complements you. Someone that needs you to live."_

"_And that someone will change me into a better person, right?"_

"_A soulmate is always a positive asset in our lives. You will love this person. And this person will love you as well. However, love also brings pain along the way. Since you want to take care of this person, you will be faced with the uttermost frustration when your soulmate is not taking care of himself or herself. You will sometimes make decisions that will sadden your soulmate but it would be for their best."_

"_I will love my soulmate as I love you grandfather?"_

"_It is a different kind of love, Shizuka-chan."_

"_So… if I find my soulmate, I will become a better person, right?"_

_My grandfather smiled._

"_Grandfather, do you know my soulmate?"_

"_As I matter of fact, yes, I do."_

"_Who is it?"_

"_I can't tell you of course, Shizuka-chan. You will have to find out for yourself."_

"_But my soulmate already loves me, right?"_

"_As a matter of fact-" he took a big sip and held it for several minutes before exhaling the smoke. "your soulmate isn't going to like you and might even hate you. It is in your hands to make that person love you back."_

"_Why won't my soulmate like me?"_

"_I can't give you more information than that." He smiled. "In fact, I might have spoken a little bit too much."_

"_Grandfather, I want to be able to protect my soulmate, so they can love me."_

"_Very well." He patted me on the head and handed me his bow._

* * *

Watanuki had been absent for three weeks. I felt tempted to call him and see how he was going but I was both too proud to do so after his constant insults, plus I wouldn't know what to tell him. He probably wouldn't want to receive that call either as it was a pity call.

Still I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to that guy.

Even though he was our classmate, no one really cared about him because he was quite unsocial. Save for that girl, Himawari, who kept asking the teacher if he was all right.

As I was walking home, I saw him running into the street, desperate as if someone was trying to kill him. But there was nothing following him. Watanuki tripped over and fell in the middle of the road, while the red lights were on. He tried to stand up but couldn't due to a twisted ankle. He was paralyzed and shaking, still trying to move. I ran towards him, unsure of what to do. When my feet touched the road's pavement, Watanuki quickly moved out of the way towards my direction, accidentally tackling me by doing so, and avoided being hit by a car.

He gasped for air, still scared of the whole experience.

I noticed he had scars on his arms and a couple of bruises.

"Hey! Are you all right?" A policeman came running towards him. People were looking at the whole scene.

Luckily, Watanuki hadn't been badly injured but he was injured from previous wounds.

And even though Watanuki was tired, injured and shocked by the incident, he stood up and screamed at me. Typical Watanuki.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Young man, I've called an ambulance to check on your wounds."

He turned around and smiled kindly at the policeman. "Ok, thanks, but I'm fine though."

"You sure?" I asked him. His face changed completely when facing me.

"Why the hell are you even here?! Of course I'm fine! I would be better if you weren't right here! Oh god I hate you!"

Watanuki looked angrier than usual. No matter how rude he was being, I sensed something wasn't right and that I should stay close to him and watch him just in case.

"I'll go too."

"What?"

"In the ambulance."

"WHAT?!"

"Ok, Sir."

"OH NO YOU ARE NOT GOING!"

But I went, despite his freak-outs and protests. He laid down while I sat on a chair. We didn't talk to each other neither during the trip nor when the doctor checked him at the ER. Watanuki was fine, save for those injuries and then gave the doctor an incredible lame and obviously fake excuse for those. I seemed to be irritating him every passing minute. And frankly, he kind of irritated me as well.

When the doctor told Watanuki he was ready to go, he just left without uttering a single word to me. Ungrateful b-...

* * *

The new school director was an eccentric woman.

She didn't seem to believe in being on administrative duties all day long, sitting on her office. Instead, she chose to spend her time in the student's playground, go to the recesses and fool around with the chemistry teacher while annoying the physical education teacher.

She also became our history teacher.

"Are you Shizuka Doumeki?"

I turned around and faced her.

"Huh." I nodded.

" I knew your grandfather. He was a great man."

I was pleased to hear that, and perhaps she also did it on purpose.

We talked about him, about his innate ability to both see and repel spirits and how he managed to help a lot of people.

"Is there something you want?" I enquired her at last. Our conversation had been on professional levels, as if she was trying to make an acquaintance with me. So I figured out she wanted something in return.

She smiled, quite enigmatically if you ask me.

"I need your help."

"What can I do for you, then." I asked her, politely.

"I need to retrieve an item from an specific location. Unfortunately, I can't retrieve it myself."

That didn't seem too difficult.

"Where is the item?"

"At the Arawasu Cinema."

Said cinema was closed last year, since they planned on demolishing it and adapting the place to hold a new restaurant. But the project halted and it now laid abandoned and covered with a yellow caution tape.

"Want me to fetch it right now?"

She looked at me, with a particular mysterious gaze.

"You will be only able to retrieve it at night…"

"Which item is it?"

"It is a black nano USB. It is on one of the screening rooms."

I looked at her, quite staggered. There were at least 10 large screening rooms in that cinema.

"So you want me to get it?"

"No, I want you to protect the person who will look for it?"

"Protect someone?"

"Yes. Kind of… preventing said person from getting killed."

"It is not that I don't accept your request but as far as I know that place isn't dangerous since the demolishing order was never issued so the place just stayed the same."

"I am not talking about protecting from falling walls or broken windows."

"So?"

"You will understand… soon." She gave me that enigmatic smile of hers again. "So, do you accept my request?"

Even though I didn't know what I was agreeing to, I still accepted.

"Yes."

"Would you wait here for a few minutes? I am going to bring here the person who is going to be in charge of finding the item."

"Yes."

"Very well, then."

She left, while I wondered how would this person be. Would it be some sort of expert, with advanced machinery?

No.

It was…

"WHAT?! What the hell?! You want me to work with THIS IDIOT?"

It was Kimihiro Watanuki.

I wouldn't have agreed if I knew this before hand. Can I still tell here that I've changed my opinion?

"So, Watanuki has accepted my request as well."

"WAIT A MINUTE! You want me to find a SUPER TINY USB, to search in a HUGE place and you won't even tell me HOW am I going to search for that thing?! Do you think it is that easy?!"

"But you said you would help me." She smiled.

"You came to me and _said 'Watanuki Kimihiro would you kindly help me find an item?'_ and I agreed thinking it would be something MUCH more REASONABLE!"

"Well, that's your fault for checking the box for 'I Accept Terms and Conditions' without knowing what they were about." She poked his chin.

"Well now that I've ALREADY read the Terms and Conditions, I want to uncheck that box!"

"But you have already ACCEPTED them, hehe! You silly boy!" She poked him even more while Watanuki was turning pink, red, blue, purple, and so on due to being furious. He looked very funny.

Watanuki pointed at me while screaming: "And WHAT will be HIS role?"

"Chill around while you do all the work!" She giggled.

"That's not fair! He should look for it too!"

"But he can't" Yuuko's expression turned from a lively one to a very serious one.

"Why?"

"Because he can't see them."

At that time, I didn't understand what Yuuko meant or what Watanuki saw. I also didn't realize that our small encounter with Yuuko that day and the task that she gave us would tie both Watanuki's destiny and mine together in a red string of faith. An encounter that should have never happened… An encounter that ended up destroying both of us, killing one of us and leaving the other insane.

* * *

**II.**

(The Shop-verse)

"That blonde guy questioned you?" Watanuki asked me.

"Yeah."

"You know… his partner, the guy with red hair. He…"

I noticed Watanuki was slightly pale.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… it's just that… he showed me disturbing messages… about people wanting to get buried in your temple…" There was something else he wanted to tell me but he wouldn't. I decided to ignore it.

I remember the first event on TV.

_"Kintarou Wada, aged 53 and sentenced four years ago for attempted murder and arson, was found dead with his eyes gorged out and his throat-"_

_"Oh my. How terrible." My mother had said."I made cookies. Miss Horiumi Kida taught me this new recipe to make them more soft and delicious."_

_"-the police have mounted a search for the culprit. Self-mutilation was discarded due to the wounds being-" The TV went on._

_"Mom. We should turn the TV off." I had told her._

I remember I hadn't paid attention since I wasn't into this kind of news. My mother, Romiko Shino Doumeki, loved mystery novels.

"And that strange symbol… kind of looked like a leaf, didn't it?"

"I'm not that sure. A strange leaf."

"Or a sort of feather? Or- I don't know, leaf, feather, whatever it is it must mean something."

The investigator, Hal Kurabayashi, had been looking for a sort of connection between the victims but they weren't related at all.

"Doumeki?"

"Huh?"

"Did that guy tell you anything else?"

"Yeah. He said the victims perceived no sense of time or space a few days before their death. The information was gathered from various witnesses."

"No sense of time?"

"They were hungry when they should be sleeping, they would wake up at unusual hours, they felt that they biological clock was tricking them… like a strong jet lag."

I pressed my hands against my forehead, in frustration. "Doumeki?" Watanuki said, with a gentle, sweet voice. "Are you alright?"

Before leaving, Kurabayashi told me that he had been checking every single person who inhabited the temple and that he had gotten reports on my mother: she had been showing a strange behavior pattern. Her biological clock didn't seem to be working well, according to her friends. That was why she was at home, resting. I had noticed that as well but until meeting Kurabayashi, I thought it was nothing to be worried about.

There are many people who could have those strange of symptoms so I tried not to think that much about it.

Even though it was late, I knew who could help me solve this issue.

* * *

"Yes, I've heard of them." Watanuki said, while smoking his kiseru and resting his hand on his beautiful, long legs. I had told him about the strange deaths and how they left a message about wanting to be buried at the temple. "So, there should only be one more death left before it either ends or until a new cycle begins." He exhaled the smoke, with a gloomy expression.

"One more?"

"Yes… I need to know what is happening… but I can't get Syaoran to communicate with me."

"Mokona tried its best!"

"What do you mean one more?"

Watanuki looked at me. "Haven't you figured it out, _yet_?"

"No."

"Kintarou Wada. Miharu Tamakawa. Hiroki Nuramatsu."

"They didn't have anything in common."

"Yes, that's true. That was precisely why the chosen people were very different. Because they aren't supposed to have any sort of relation in age, sex, social status, and so on."

"So, what did you figure out?"

"Kintarou Wada. If we take the first hiragana out of his name and surname, we got Ki and Wa. If we do it for Miharu Tamakawa, we get Mi and Ta. Same for Hiroki Nuramatsu, which gives us a Hi and Nu."

My eyes opened wide, realizing it.

"Ki Wa, Mi Ta, Hi Nu, if we order those, we can: Ki Mi Hi and Wa Ta Nu."

_KimihiRO WatanuKI._

I knew what he was about to say but I didn't want to hear it.

"So the next person has to be someone suffering from the biological clock disorder, whose name starts with the hiragana RO and surname with KI…"

"I know someone who is suffering that disorder… My mother… Romiko Shino Doumeki…"

"Her maiden name and surname?"

I could hear my own heartbeat and feel it on my throat. "Kishida… She is Romiko Kishida…"

Watanuki drew closer and cupped my chin since I was in absolute shock.

"Doumeki… I know you know about that distortion but you won't tell me… but I want you to know that if you erase it, we will be able to save your mother..."

* * *

A/N:

I'm sorry for the long wait! RL kept me busy so I had to write and rewrite at the bus stops during traffic!

I don't know if anyone tried to search for a sort of correlation of the deaths or if it was just a 'who cares, what's this got to do with the story?' Of course a time distortion creates a distortion in said universe and prices must be paid. However, said prices might distort that universe even more, because it is sheltering another distortion. So Doumeki will have to make a choice (and this time he will actually CHOOSE, unlike *ahem* *ahem* the egg thing that drives me mad! argh!)

In the Horitsuba-verse, Yuuko's encounter with both boys and her tying their destinies together brings pain rather than happiness... But they will have their happy moments before facing the inevitable.

Also, Horitsuba!Doumeki doesn't know Watanuki attracts spirits, yet. Even though Watanuki's aura repels his and Watanuki drives him nuts, Doumeki knows there is something about him that makes him want to be near him. He just needed the catalyst: Yuuko, to be able to bond with Watanuki.

See you in the next chapter!


	9. Lost & Found

**xxxHOLiC·Heikou**

Disclaimer: I don't own xxxHOLiC. If I did, I would make the Live Action drama last longer than 8 episodes!

Previous Chapter Summary: Two uncovered investigators aiding the police tell Doumeki and (fake) Watanuki about the strange deaths and how are those linked to Doumeki's temple.

Note: The first part is set on the Horitsuba-verse and the second one, in the original Watanuki's time.

* * *

**IX. Lost & Found**

* * *

[Horitsuba verse]

"She is CRAZY! Sending me to a place like this… and telling you to carry your archery stuff, I can't understand her!"

We walked into the screening rooms, trying to avoid tripping over with the broken cinema chairs and other leftovers.

Even though it seemed impossible to find such a small item, Watanuki seemed to be guided by something. I just followed him around.

"This way!" He pointed. "I know it is this way…"

"How?"

"Can't you see all of this smoke?! Yuuko said it held something nasty, so I suppose the more dangerous it gets, the closer we get to it."

Dangerous? I didn't get it at all. Even though the rational part of my brain thought Watanuki might be a little bit out of his mind, the other part told me that perhaps there was something I couldn't sense that he could sense. Like my grandfather…

Watanuki was coughing heavily by the time we had entered the fourth screening room.

"Ugh this thing stinks!" He moved some broken floor tiles away and found a small, black item. "I think this must be it, it is filled with smoke and it is all sticky! Yuck!"

"I just see a normal USB." I answered.

"Really?! This thing looks terrible! It is all broken, dusty, it has this strange liquid and-"

Suddenly, he was pushed away by some sort of invisible force and his back hit the nearest wall.

"Oi…?" I was completely lost.

"Doumeki! RUN! Run!"

For me, the cinema looked completely empty and Watanuki was the one behaving weirdly, making strange movements. He even looked as if he was humping the wall… weird.

However, I became alarmed when I saw Watanuki's neck getting strangled and some fingerprints on it.

"Watanuki!"

I ran towards him, but I couldn't reach him on time since he was lifted about 3 meters from the ground by whatever was helding him captive.

"Ru-Run…" Watanuki gasped. "Before… they-ugh-see you too! No! Run! Doumekigh!"

Suddenly, some sort of invisible hand blocked my vision.

"Doumeki!" Watanuki screamed. Although I couldn't see anything, I felt it: the hand, the fingers... And Watanuki had somehow foreseen it. Was this a nightmare?

"I see…" I muttered to myself as I finally realized it. Watanuki could see and feel the dead.

Suddenly, a weird voice whispered to me. It was the voice of my grandfather.

"_**Someone that needs you to live"**_

I began to remember the first time he had handed me his bow. When he had taught me archery.

"_**When creating the tenouchi, extend and flatten your left hand so that the fingers are in line and snug against each other."**_

"_**Yes, grandfather."**_

I reached for my bow and as soon as I touched it, whatever was blocking my vision vanished completely.

"_**Now, place the hand along the left edge of the grip so that the edge is parallel to the base of the fingers."**_

I reached for an arrow but couldn't find any.

"_**Fold the last three fingers lightly around the edge of the grip. Leave a space, there, yes, correct, a space between the middle joint of the fingers and the grip."**_

"_**Grandfather, is it ok to practice without an arrow?"**_

"_**If it is you-"**_

"-then it is alright." Yuuko's voice echoed from the other screening room.

She entered the fourth screening room, looking at Watanuki.

"_**Shizuka-chan, the alignment of the arm, wrist and hand varies among styles of kyudo but generally speaking the crease of the arm should be vertical and the hand" he held my hand and placed it elsewhere "should not be bent to the right or left at full draw."**_

"Do it… as your grandfather taught you." Yuuko said.

How she had appeared out of nowhere, found us or read my thoughts were details that didn't matter at this current situation. All it mattered was saving Watanuki. Not only because it was the right thing to do but also because he seemed to be someone that could help me answer the questions I had all this time. His ability to sense the death… I was desperate to know more about it.

I pointed an imaginary arrow at Watanuki's neck as my grandfather hand instructed me and released the bow with no hesitation on my mind.

Watanuki fell to the floor and gasped for breath. By the looks of it, he had slightly twisted his ankle due to the height of his fall.

Yuuko walked towards me, then placed her hand on my shoulder.

"You have done well."

She gazed at Watanuki, examining him. Then, she opened her bag and pulled out a notebook.

"Watanuki, hand me the USB."

I covered my ears because I knew what would happen next.

"I was ABOUT TO GET KILLED and instead of asking me 'hey Watanuki-kun are you alright? Is your ankle OK?' you HAD to ask for your STUPID USB how UNCONSIDERATE ARE YOU ARGH! I was about to get killed, you know!"

"Yes, you've just said it about two times and we saw it too, now be a good boy and hand me the USB."

Watanuki went from red to purple to blue and to every color of the spectrum. However, he did hand her the USB.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, trying to be polite.

He sent me a death glare.

"I didn't need your help!"

Just tell me who in earth could understand this guy. I could only roll my eyes.

The good thing is that he seemed like he was Ok.

"By the way, how did you find us?" Watanuki asked her.

Yuuko ignored his question and opened the USB files. She told us to have a look.

There were files about the scholarships. She smiled, mischievously.

"Do you know the Clamp Corporation?" She asked me.

"Yeah. They own our school. They also own several pharmacies, bakeries, Japanese restaurants, and other businesses."

"I see. Very well. The Clamp Corporation decided to implement the scholarship policy based on the arguments presented by your previous director. It seemed that their precious and respectable director was hiding something… hee hee…"

I looked at the PDFs on the screen.

"He was using it as a financial aid for his daughters. One of them was denied a scholarship, supposedly because the school had reached the limit. So he made his moves and gave her Watanuki's scholarship."

"This school can't be that expensive, right? For him to go over such things to get scholarships…" Watanuki gulped. The look on his eyes told me that he resented said fact and wanted his scholarship back.

"He could pay for them, he had a lot of money, but people are the greediest of all… Oh! This is interesting!"

She opened some Excel files.

"Her daughter is 23 years old!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Twenty-three?! What the F-"

"She has been granted a scholarship but she hasn't been coming to school. In this case, the money for this financial aid is being deposited in his parent's account. This guy is making a lot of money…"

"But- the scholarship policy said that you had to be talented-"

"Well, well. He was the school director."

She closed her laptop.

"This is enough for you to get your scholarship back, Watanuki."

Watanuki was surprised and then smiled warmly.

"Really? Will I get… will I get back to school?"

Yuuko just chuckled.

"Well, yes."

"I- I can't be more grateful with you! I-"

"I didn't do it for you, Watanuki." She told him.

"Huh?"

"The board suspected something was wrong with the things he was doing. One of them was the new school policy. So they hired me with the condition that I cleaned out this mess. So, after doing some research, I found out he had lost an important item which contained valuable information to this whole policy of his…"

"And how did you know I could sense it?" Watanuki asked her.

"During the time I was investigating, I heard of a certain student which had been denied said scholarship. People told me you were some sort of weirdo…"

"HEY!" Watanuki complained.

"But there are others who believe that you can sense things that no one else can… So this USB and the negative energy it emitted lured you. Even more, if that negative energy affected you in a direct way: having your scholarship rejected. As if this was almost set as a trap to consume you entirely."

"You believe in those things?" Watanuki asked her. Yuuko chuckled. This woman was really enigmatic.

"I just did my job. My previous job. Now that I've quitted, I just want to become a school director."

Yuuko grabbed her stuff and was about to leave the screening room.

"You should thank Doumeki for saving your life, he repels 'them'. I still need to examine the other files in this USB."

"You're leaving just like that?"

"Bye! Bye! Thanks Doumeki!" She left.

"Repels what? Yuuko! Argh!" Watanuki looked at me. "What was that?! And by the way, why did you only thank Doumeki! I was the one who found it and nearly got killed! Argh I hate her so much! I- hey Doumeki."

"What." Thanks god, he shut up.

"That thing that you shot." Watanuki looked at me, puzzled.

"I didn't shoot anything."

"Yes you did! It was all white and bright, like a white arrow or that sort of stuff."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"It killed the monster, spirit or whatever that thing was. As if you had somehow exorcised it!" Watanuki raised his arms, making weird gestures. I must admit, this guy is kind of fun to watch.

I looked at both of my hands. Did I really have that power? The power to exorcise? Yuuko said it too: I repel… them. I smiled to myself, as I felt my grandfather smiling at me from heaven.

"Anyways, let's get going. I know you think I'm a freak for saying this weird stuff 'cause you can't see them."

"The fact that I can't see them doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I believe that what exists and what doesn't exists doesn't depend solely upon what I see. Because there are certain things I can't sense. Yet I saw you getting strangled and being lifted. If you say those were due to spirits, then I believe you."

"Oh." Watanuki was surprised and taken aback. "Okay…"

"Yet you still looked pretty lame humping the wall like that, like a dog in heat."

And you know the rest. Watanuki started screaming and flailing around while I covered my ears.

Watanuki. The guy who could sense, feel, smell and interact not only with the dead but with every paranormal thing. He always kept running from them. I had thought that he was just a freak but now that I am putting the pieces together, he was being chased by said paranormal beings. I remember hearing him screaming 'No more!', 'Please, leave me alone!', or 'Get of me!' and now it all made sense.

"This spirits, are they attracted to you?"

"Yeah…" He grumped. "They follow me everywhere…"

Watanuki, the guy who was chased by spirits. He couldn't be left alone just like that, no wonder why he was always injured. I realized… I could repel them and exorcised them. Logic stated that Watanuki needed me. And I needed him, otherwise those powers would go to waste, wouldn't they. If I never trained them, then I would never be like my grandfather, the person I admired the most.

At that time I thought that it would be convenient to hang around him, even if he didn't like it. But I needed to know more about that power I had, the one I had inherited from the person I had cherished the most.

So, that's how Watanuki started making me lunch as a 'payment' and I guarded him from evilness.

And that's how my monotonous days turned into fun days, where I watched Watanuki flail around all day and get pissed off at my comments.

"Are you listening to me, you JERK?!" He screamed.

"Yeah." Of course, I'm not listening to him.

* * *

**II.**

[SHOP Verse]

[Watanuki's POV]

_Song: Angel by Massive Attack_

"Dou-meki…"

He had pinned me down to the floor, both of his hands were clutching my wrists.

His gaze… it wasn't the one he always gave me. He looked dangerous…

"Who… are… you…" He muttered.

"Dou-"

"**WHO ARE YOU!?**" He screamed, which took me aback. Doumeki was sweating.

"What… What's WRONG WITH YOU?!" I screamed back, in fear.

Doumeki freed one of my wrists to get something on his pocket. He placed it near my neck. It was a knife.

His eyes… they didn't have any sort of shine at all.

"I wonder if you _bleed like the rest_… If you are truly human…"

He gently pressed the knife against my throat and made a small cut. I was terrified and tried to hold back the tears. I was shaking. He was shaking too…

"Why…" I muttered. "I thought you were… the only one I could trust…" I tried to hold back the tears. The cut was painful. Perhaps not the cut itself… but rather being cut by him.

"If you can answer these questions, I'll let you go…" His hands were trembling.

I couldn't move at all. I was too terrified… I wanted to call for help. But then I though… He was the one I've always called when I needed help. Right now… there was no one who could help me or rescue me.

"What are your parents' names?" He asked me.

"I don't know… both died when I was little."

"When?"

"When I was… I can't remember…" My mind went fuzzy.

"When they died, whom did you stay with?"

"I… I don't remember… Alone… I think…"

"How did you end up being in this apartment."

I was shaking. Because… I couldn't remember.

He deepened the cut… was he going to slice my throat?

"Doumeki… no… it hurts… please…"

"Which middle school did you attend?"

"I… I can't remember…"

Doumeki's hand was shaking a lot, he could barely hold his knife.

"Do you know… what your own food tastes like?"

"… No… I don't…" I sobbed. "I don't… Doumeki…"

"Tell me… Watanuki…" he was sweating and panting. "What is your earliest memory?"

I cried. I cried because I was scared. Because I was bleeding. Because the person I trusted was trying to kill me. But most of all, because I had realized one thing.

"Waking up in my bed in this apartment…" I sobbed "going to the supermarket and meeting you… that is my earliest memory…"

I had realized… that…

"I see… I knew you weren't real after all…" Doumeki said, coldly.

Tears streamed down my face.

Doumeki didn't deepen the cut. He just stared at me, for what seemed like hours to me, while I grew scared each passing second.

"I can't remember… why… who am I…"

[Doumeki's POV]

_I headed towards the bookstore. The impostor was looking at the books with a weird expression. He held a pricy dictionary and tried to read the book cover but apparently couldn't, even if the word 'Dictionary' was printed in a very large font size. I remembered Watanuki needed glasses but I doubted his eye measurement was too high to not being able to read such gigantic letters._

Know that I remembered, the original Watanuki had never read the pricy dictionary but did read the famous comedy manga Urusai Baka. The font size of the manga was kind of small.

At that time, at the supermarket, Watanuki could barely see but he could identify that red-tip leaf lettuce and he knew his way around the supermarket.

It seemed that this Watanuki could only see or interact with the things the original one had interacted before becoming the shop owner.

"I… I can only remember…" I was still clutching his wrist and pointing my knife at his delicate throat. "…the time I spent with you…" his eyes were red. "It's weird… isn't it, huh?" he tried holding back the tears but it was useless. "Since I just tend to be sleepy whenever you aren't around… why…?"

Tears streamed down my face too… It was in fact the first time I cried in front of him.

"You… you are my wish…"

"Your wish…?"

I pressed my forehead against his and nodded.

"Then… I'm not real… am I?"

"No…" I whispered, softly. I felt as if I was breaking away. "If I don't get rid of you… more people will keep on dying… and my delusion will get stronger…"

"Then… do it..." Although his whole body was shaking with fear, his eyes were filled with determination. "If I'm not real… if I'm hurting others… and becoming your delusion… then I don't need to live, do I?"

Just like the real Watanuki.

He placed his hand on top of the hand that held the knife.

"Please… be quick…"

I gave him a quick peck on his forehead.

"Ok…" I said, while clutching the knife and preparing to get over it.

* * *

**III.**

[Watanuki's shop]

Although 3am wasn't the best moment to visit Watanuki, I needed to see him. So I entered the shop, went to his bedroom and slowly poked him. He turned around, slightly pissed off but upon seeing my current state, he violently stood up and questioned me.

"Doumeki-" Watanuki, the shop owner, looked worried. My eyes were red and I was still shaking. "What-?"

"I… I killed… I killed my mother…"


End file.
